Beats of the Heart
by Dai-Cam
Summary: Weiss escapes her life of tradition and seeks out what her soul desires. Ruby is pulled into the life of a rockstar where she has to adjust immensely. They each have to tackle their own hurdles and learn to play to the beats of their hearts.
1. Chapter 1 - A Note of Recognition

It was stuffy in the backroom where bodies pressed against bodies and instruments bumped, leaving an echoing note with even the slightest movement. The only fresh air that entered the crowded room was when the next band went onto the stage and the previous band was returning. This did not set Ruby at ease at all. Honestly, this was the first time she came to this part of town at night. During the day it wasn't so scary.

Ruby squeaked as a hand landed on her shoulder. Spinning in place to punch whoever it was that decided to invade her personal space (even though she knew that she wouldn't be able to do much damage), she relaxed when Yang's encouraging smile appeared.

"Relax, we don't want to be tense when we get up there, do we?" Yang asked, calming Ruby down as she slings her arm around Ruby's shoulders.

"We'll be fine," Blake added with a small smile, appearing by Yang's other side.

"You hear that, Ruby?" Yang nearly yelled as another wave of applause travelled into the backroom, drowning out her voice. "Just relax and we should be fine."

Ruby gave them a small smile to show that she had listened but the nerves were too much. She shuffled her feet on the spot as Yang's arm dropped from her shoulders. Ruby reached for her hair but realised that it wasn't as long as it used to be. She looked around the room again, counting the groups left before them. Two more groups then it's them. Ruby spun around to face the wall opposite the door that lead to the stage, focusing on anything but the huge crowd outside the room.

But her mind drew to the music and the audience's reaction. The band that just went on wasn't doing so well. The guitarist was muting most of the notes and- Is that a violin? It sounded more like a screeching tyre.

Ruby only hopes that they weren't that bad...

Ruby shook her head vigorously. _Think positive... Think positive..._

"We're up next, Sis!"

Wait, what? Now?

Ruby walked behind Yang as she led the group up to the stage. The noise from the crowd instantly made Ruby freeze in her tracks, Blake almost bumped into her.

Ruby could clearly remember the moment when she was told that they were in a competition. Not any small competition where you hand in something and they judge it, a few days later you get your results via email or SMS. Either way, it didn't require you to stand in front of them while they judge your project.

Ruby didn't expect this.

A week ago, Yang came bounding into the lounge, disrupting the tutoring lesson Blake was giving Ruby (just to up her marks in English by 10% at least). "Hello, you beautiful people!"  
Yang practically sang as she plonked herself down next to Blake. "You won't believe what I just did."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at her sister. The only time Yang had this big of a smile was when she was teasing Blake or when she had done something Ruby would regret later on. Breathing out a sigh and putting down her pencil (she is never going to get learning done with Yang here); she studied Yang as the blonde fiddled with a rolled up piece of paper. She didn't appear to have gotten in a fight so that is not it.

Ruby could only remember that Yang had gone to the store to get milk. What could have happened on the way to the store?

"What happened?" Blake asked and smiled at Yang, putting down the poetry book that Ruby was learning from.

Yang practically bounced on the spot as she nearly knocked all of Ruby's learning utensils when she slammed the paper into the table, flattening it out so all could see.

It was upside down so it took a second or two longer than Blake to read. Ruby's eyes widened slightly. "Yang? Please tell me you didn't sign us all up for this."

Yang's grin faltered a bit and Ruby started to feel guilty for it. "Well, of course, silly. I signed all three of us up. I'll do drums, Blake can do base and you can sing and play guitar... What?"

Ruby was glaring at her and Blake's ears were flat against her head. "Yang, you know that I don't do well with crowds," Ruby moaned, not believing that Yang could betray her this way.

Yang shrugged her shoulders and looked down towards the table, no trace of the grin from a few seconds before. "I just thought that if you could get on stage and realise that it isn't so bad, you might get over your fear. If you don't get over this now, you will have a hard time interacting in the future. And I don't want you to struggle to make friends," Yang's voice was quiet at the end. Ruby twirled her fingers around a strand of her dark hair that rested on the front of her shirt.

She was just looking out for Ruby, trying to help her. Like throwing her into the pool and telling her to learn how to swim. But it was true. She struggled to make friends now as it is. Heck, it took her longer than a week to have a full conversation with Blake when she first met the Faunus.

Yang was right.

"Fine."

That single word lit Yang up like a light bulb. Yang leaned over the table and tackled Ruby into a hug, completely knocking all of the things off of the table between them (Blake removed her tea from the table just in time).

They scheduled to practise the next day and that is where they found out that Blake never knew how to play the bass. Ruby tried to teach her as best as she could and three days after that, Blake had been able to carry through a song flawlessly. At the time, Yang let out a low whistle, commenting with a wink, "Kitty is a quick learner." The sisters were quite impressed.

They were completely ready by the end of the week, although they could only play one song with a few mistakes on Ruby's part. She didn't know that singing and playing at the same time could be this difficult!

Blake nudged her back and Yang grabbed her biceps, bringing Ruby back to the present where cheers and announcements of the next group can be heard. Ruby blinked twice before registering that Yang's face was really close to hers and she was saying something. Without a second thought, Ruby pushed Yang's face away from hers and muttered a small, "I'm fine." She walked past her sister and stood by the curtains that shielded her from the crowd. _Does my hair look okay? Does it look stupid with just the tips dyed?_ She patted her hair down making sure that it wasn't sticking up all over the place. _Why did they have to cut my hair this short?_

Ruby's knees started to bounce and her heart raced as soon as she took a peak at the audience. _Too many people... Way too many people!_

She instead focused on Yang who went up to the announcer and whispered something into his ear. The announcer pulled back and looked at her quizzically to which Yang answered with a firm nod and a thumbs up. Yang walked back to them with a mischievous smile and a wink in Blake's direction. _What did she do now?_ Ruby fiddled with her leather jacket. _Why do I have to wear all leather? I know that you have to look the part, but this much leather is ridiculous. It's too hot! I need out! Why did I ever listen to Yang? I should've listened to Blake; she is the more sensible of the two!_

"Alright, calm down people," the announcer's voice carried over the crowd. "The next group is up and they will be knocking your socks off." _Wait!_ "Give it up for..." the announcer yelled, pausing for dramatic effect and in this moment, Ruby realised what Yang did as she spun to her sister. _We didn't decide on a group name!_

"Ruby and the Yang Bangers!"

If Ruby's eyes could go any wider, her eyes would pop out of their sockets. Blake just faced palmed and Yang had a shit eating grin on her face as they all walked onto the stage.

 _Is my eyeliner okay? Did I put too much on?_

Ruby was last to each her spot and she looked out towards the crowd. It wasn't so bad. The lights shining on them blocked her view of the audience, for that she was grateful for. Glancing at Yang behind her, Ruby saw Yang settle into her seat, drumsticks at the ready. They exchanged nods of encouragement before Ruby looked over at Blake, who just plugged the cord into her bass guitar. Blake nodded and pointed at her feet, the bow on her head twitching from the murmurs created by the audience. _Why was Blake pointing at my feet?_

Ruby looked down and found nothing wrong with her shoes. Her shoelaces were tied.

She looked back up at Blake who continued to point at her feet. _Am I not standing right?_ Ruby adjusted her stance and looked at Blake for confirmation. Blake rolled her eyes and covered her face with her hand.

"Psst, Ruby..." Ruby looked to Yang who pointed at the amp behind her. Oh.

 _Oh..._

Smiling sheepishly at the crowd that she couldn't see, she plugged in her guitar and stood ready at the mic.

Yang counted them in and they played their song to the best of their ability. Ruby was too nervous to keep a steady voice and Yang seemed to be more pumped than usual. She was struggling to keep up with the blond and still sing to the beat. Ruby could hear the bass quite fine. _Seems like Blake could match Yang, why can't I?_

When the last verse came, Ruby put all her effort in to match her voice with all the instruments. After the last note, she waited and breathed. There was no one that cheered during the song but no one jeered, so that's always a plus.

She tried to calm her rising heart beat as she continued to wait for a reaction from the audience. A few seconds later, a small applause took over the room.

 _I am never doing this again._ Ruby's heart felt heavy at the lack of cheers. The other groups had way better responses then they did.

The announcer reappeared from the side of the stage as the applause calmed down to nothing. "Alright folks, that was the last band of the night. I am your host, Flynt Coal, and I wish you a goodnight!"

They were the last band? Ruby felt relieved having to not rush out. She could actually take her time in reassuring herself that one foot goes in front of the other.

She slowly stepped away from her mic as Flynt came walking towards them. "Mind taking the drum kit down? It's like tradition for the last group who played," Flynt requested and Ruby could only look at the floor and nod, not trusting her voice at all at this moment. "Cool, enjoy the rest of your night." He tipped his hat at the group and disappeared into the crowd.

"Welp, let's get started," Yang announced and started with the drum kit. Blake and Ruby helped out once they packed their own instruments away.

Ruby didn't hear her coming so when she spoke, Ruby almost dropped one of the cymbals. "You need a vocalist. And a manager, and a choreographer, and better clothes and equipment." The voice was so confident, it made Ruby nervous. _I hope that she didn't see me sing and make a fool of myself..._

Yang leaves the cymbal stands and crosses her arms over her chest, sizing the girl up. "Yeah, so?" Ruby hears Yang say from where she is sitting. _Yang, please don't do anything._

Ruby stands up and turns to the girl. _Why would someone want white hair? It just makes you look old or very stressed._

She takes in a breath. _I just sang in front of a crowd, talking to her cannot be any worse than that. Come on, Ruby. You can do this. Show Yang that you can talk to people and make friends._

"We don't really have the means to get that kind of stuff," Ruby replied softly but kept her voice steady. She had to show Yang that she could do this. _Say something nice, right? Isn't that how you make friends?_ "But we appreciate you coming tonight."

They don't have the money for any of those things. Ruby was using her mom's guitar and Blake picked up her bass at a second-hand store a few years back while Yang used one of her friend's drum kits. Heck, they didn't even know that they were going to be in this competition a week ago. They just don't have the means for anything at this moment.

Ruby realised that Blake and Yang were quiet. Were they letting her handle this interaction? _Bad idea..._

The girl in front of Ruby lifted her chin in confidence as she stated, "I sing. I've been trained by Atlas' best for my entire life." Ruby's eyes widened. Her entire life? Then she must be excellent, right? And is she offering to sing for them? After what had just happened a few minutes ago, Ruby would gladly let the girl be the lead singer. It was too traumatising for her.

Ruby almost jumped in fright when Blake spoke up. "Miss Schnee, while we appreciate the offer, opera isn't exactly the sound we're going for." Blake, always the voice of reason. Ruby almost giggled at the girl's name (It was quite funny, okay?), but stopped. Opera? Isn't that almost like screaming that only rich people can understand?

Miss Schnee looked taken aback for a moment before covering it up. "Are you open to an audition?" she asked and Ruby hoped that she didn't start screaming. Ruby had had enough embarrassment to last her a lifetime. She looked to Blake and Yang as the girl dropped her guitar case and took out a beat up and dirty guitar with the white shining through. It was a very nice guitar and Ruby found herself staring at it for too long. She looked at the girl and nodded. It looked like the girl was serious about this.

The girl plugged her guitar into the amp and fiddled with the knobs. She smiled and left the knobs when she was satisfied with the results. Ruby watched her take a breath and braced herself. _Please don't scream!_

Ruby watched as the girl played a simple song, tapping her foot to the rhythm. _At least she isn't screaming. And her voice sounds so light and controlled._

Close to the chorus, she looked up at the other three girls and furrowed her eyebrows and Ruby took a step back, afraid of what she is about to do.

In one swift movement that Ruby couldn't follow, the girl switches her playing style to a rough and raw power chord that Ruby struggles to learn to this day. It was powerful and the girl's singing changed as well, this time making the performance way better than how she started out. The girl played a wrong note here and there but it didn't really make a difference. Ruby watched in awe as the girl put all her feeling into this. Her fingers moved so quickly over the fret board it was almost a blur and for some reason, Ruby got the feeling that this is what the girl has wanted to do for a long time.

A squeal wanted to escape Ruby's throat once the girl finished her performance, but she just covered her mouth with both hands. She didn't want to scare the girl off with her outrageous fangirling ways. Not after the performance that she just gave, they need her and Ruby is pretty sure that the others would agree judging on their grins.

The girl glanced up at each of their faces, studying them before nodding.

She reaches into her purse and pulls out a small blue card, the bars lights glinting into off it. She smirks, "I think I have the next day until they deactivate this. You think we can hit the limit before then?"

* * *

 **Hey, there. So this story will be based off of a post made by sweeetangerine on Tumblr. Please check out his posts, he is awesome. The post that this was based on is in Weiss' point of view. We accept constructive criticism for this story and we are sorry for any spelling mistakes. Please look out for the next chapter. :D**


	2. Chapter 2 - Muted Note

Chapter 2 - Muted Note

The moment of excitement over finding a new bandmate was short lived as Yang's smile was replaced with a frown of concern. She started to fiddle with the cymbal stands again before asking, "Why would you offer that?" Weiss opened her mouth to reply but Yang cut her off, infuriating her in just a moment. "And why come to us of all people? You don't even know us."

Weiss crossed her arms. _She has a point..._

"I have my reasons," Weiss stated firmly, before looking at the other two. The black beauty had no expression on her face but the one with the dyed hair looked a bit worried. _I am offering to get them the things that they need and they don't even want it. Don't normal people normally jump at the offer of money?_

"Listen, Princess-"

"Heiress, actually."

 _Ex-heiress..._

The blonde shot her friend a quick glance before continuing, "How do you expect us to trust you if you won't even share your reasoning as to why you want to help us? I think we deserve to know."

Weiss studied Yang. She looked exhausted from this specific interaction, as if just talking with the ex-heiress tires out her entire being.

"Listen," the blonde said, "We are perfectly fine on our own. Thank you, but we don't need your help."

"I am literally giving you an opportunity to get all that you need," Weiss gritted through her teeth, panic setting in as she started to realise that this chance to a new and better life (better than her own life) might slip through her fingers. She couldn't let that happen. She needed this. This was her escape. "And you just continue to shoot it down ungratefully."

The blonde got up from her stool and stalked to Weiss, towering over her. "We don't need your money," she stated lowly, lilac eyes locked onto her ice-blue ones. "Even if we did accept, you'd use it as an excuse to make us do what you want." So that was the actual reason, she was afraid of betrayal. _But I am a Schnee, a_ proper _Schnee. I am not that petty, not like_ him.

Just before Weiss could respond to the attack, the small voice from before cut her off.

"Yang." It honestly took Weiss by surprise because the blonde's voice was so loud and demanding while the shorter girl had an unsure and quiet voice. The contrast was so great, it immediately caught Weiss' attention. "Can- can I talk to you?" The girl was between them now and Weiss could just barely see over her head. "Just for a mo-moment," the girl added as an afterthought.

Weiss watched as the girl dragged the blonde to the other side of the stage by her forearm. Her irritation still stubbornly rising as she watched the blonde look over the other girl's shoulder at Weiss every few seconds with a judging look, gave a few comments here and there but ultimately stayed quiet to listen.

 _Huh, so the big oaf can listen instead of interrupting people all the time._

Weiss saw the girls nod to each other, although blondie seemed a bit reluctant to do so, before making their way back towards her. She rested a hand on Myrtenaster's body in an effort to calm herself. The blonde looks just about ready to bite Weiss' head off while the one with the dyed tips was fidgeting with her hair, eyes casted down to her shoes. One was untied.

"Don't think that we trust you-" the blonde started, but stopped when the shorter girl put her hand on the blonde's shoulder. The blonde puffed air through her nose in agitation, crossing her arms and glaring at Weiss.

"Yang." That quiet voice again. As soon as Yang had disagreed with Weiss' offer, this girl when back into her shell, as if she didn't really want to be there. As if she was intimidated by this girl...

Weiss had seen this act too many times before. With her mother, her sister, even her brother. With her. This was the act of someone who was too afraid to stand up for herself, someone who had been belittled, someone who was beaten for being herself. Someone who was too embarrassed to be herself.

Weiss glared at the blonde, the one who probably made this girl the way she is. There are too many people in the world that shun others for being themselves.

Weiss looked to the shorter girl who now stood a few feet away from her. She continued to look at her feet and Weiss couldn't hear her mumbles. "Speak up, I cannot hear you," she stated firmly. Weiss knew cases that was similar to this and most of the time, it took firm words to get the submissive to actually stand up for themselves.

Yang bristled next to her but still, she kept quiet.

The girl flinched and tried to look up but her eyes just made it to Weiss' knees before they shot back down to the floor between them. She took a deep breath before starting, "We'd love to have you join our band." Weiss let out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. _Great, I don't need to go back to that place._ She started to remove Myrtenaster's strap from her neck, stopped when the girl continued, "But..." She took in a breath before locking her eyes with Weiss'. Weiss was frozen. _But what?_ "You have to-"

"Weiss? Weiss Schnee?"

They all turned to the voice. Flynt was climbing onto the stage, the smirk on his face irritated Weiss. _Always that damn smug look on his face._ As he approached Weiss, he crossed his arms and tilted his head up, looking down on her. She kept her face neutral as his demeanour turned serious. "Don't think that I forgot what your family did," he said loud enough for the others to hear. She could see that this statement had already caught Yang's interest.

The last time they saw each other, they were at least civil. So now that he was hostile, Weiss tried to remember what her father did or ordered others to do whatever he wanted. Weiss came up blank. She didn't know what her father did this time and she won't blame Flynt if he was still angry about it, but he just should not blame her for her father's actions.

Weiss could feel the rest of the group's eyes on them and honestly, who wouldn't stare? An heiress and a jazz band leader's son having a stare down in the most unlikely place to ever spot either, a downtown bar-turned-hall. They didn't know how Weiss and Flynt knew each other. The last time they spoke to each other was at one of his father's jazz concerts and the Schnees were invited. Weiss was placed next to Flynt and they had to socialise. It turned out to be just a bit better than Weiss had expected, Flynt was a refined young man with hopes to earn his place in his father's band. He had shared his hopes in the upcoming years and in turn, she shared hers. They were civil. At least that was what she thought.

Now, all Weiss hopes is that he didn't bring up what her father did, no matter how angry he was with her family. She needs to gain the others' trust, Weiss will tell them of her father once she is sure that they won't just discard her.

The corners of his mouth pulled up into a genuine smile. "Your father is an ass for what he did," Flynt said and unfolded his arms, taking on a more relaxed stance.

She blinked. _Thank goodness._

He slung one of his arms around her shoulders in a side hug and she let the feeling that he was still angry with her go. He wasn't angry with her but her father. He faced the others. "I initially came to kick you ladies out, it's closing time and everyone but you four have left." They all turned to find that the hall was indeed empty. "But," he announced, drawing their attention again. He smirked and removed his fedora, "I overheard you all discussing whether or not to let Weiss into your group. you would not regret it if you let her in." Weiss shrugged his arm off her shoulders and raised her eyebrows. _Oh?_ "From what I know, she will get this band in tip-top shape before all of you even know it. And by the performance that you gave tonight, I'd say that you need it."

Weiss crossed her arms and sent a smug look Yang's way. _You were saying?_ She smirked when the blonde scowled, bending down to place her drumsticks into the side of her calf, held securely by the sock and boot.

Flynt put his fedora back on just as Blake appeared beside Yang, drumkit already packed away. "I'll send an email to Yang as soon as the results of tonight's performances are done." He walked to the side and hopped off the stage. He turned around, holding a finger up as if he had just remembered something. "And you'd have to re-register if you do decide to have Weiss join your band. Just let me know. Ciao."

They all stared after him. That was one person Weiss did not expect to encounter today. It was a pleasant surprise, though. _At least there is one person other than Winter that believes in me._ She gave his retreating figure a small smile, grateful for his words from earlier on.

Something nudged Weiss' thigh and she looked down, seeing Myrtenaster's case. The girl with the dyed tips gave her a shy smile. Weiss removed the guitar from her neck and placed it in its case that the girl opened.

When she stood up again, the girl with the long, black hair and bow calmly introduced them all, "Welcome to the team." Yang grumbled something low from beside her and the girl nudged the blonde to keep quiet. "I'm Blake. This is personified ball of sunshine is Yang and she's Ruby. We are glad to have you on our team."

Well, two of them are, one would probably be happy when a bus would run Weiss over.

Ruby tried to clear her throat for a few seconds before she looked up at Weiss again. "Yeah, welcome to 'Ruby and the Yang Bangers'!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly, only to stop in her tracks a second later, her cheeks flushing red from embarrassment.

Weiss just stared at the girl. _The name has to go._


	3. Chapter 3 - White Noise

The four of them were walking in silence with the occasional direction from Weiss and a grumble from Yang. Ruby walked with a small skip in her step as Yang and Blake walked wordlessly behind her with Weiss bringing up the rear, the occasional glance at her scroll.

Although she knew that the atmosphere behind her was tense, Ruby felt that she needed to keep a positive feel in the group as they walked down the streets. They were all tired and half of the group was cranky since they didn't sleep at all the previous night. Ruby still felt jittery from their performance, a feeling that really wouldn't go away anytime soon; Yang was still grouchy from Weiss' presence; Weiss was quiet besides when she gave directions to the place that she is taking them to now and Blake was Blake: cool, calm and collected as usual.

After they left the venue the previous night, Blake had offered to buy them all drinks in an effort to get to know Weiss better. It didn't go that well because as soon as they sat down at a table, Yang and Weiss had snipped at each other so much that it almost turned into a full-on argument. It didn't get to that level as they all had to order drinks. They all fell into silence again. Blake had been the one to ask most of the questions and Ruby just listened to the vague information that Weiss gave.

Ruby knew that Blake used the alcohol as an excuse to understand how Weiss works. One of the things that Blake had taught Ruby was 'A drunken man's words are a sober man's thoughts' which meant that you were more than likely to find out the true colours of a person when they are under liquid inspiration. Ruby saw that Blake was quietly observing Weiss throughout the night. Weiss had a Scotch, Yang had a few beers, Blake and Ruby had a soda each. Weiss refused to have any more alcohol after that and Ruby could see Blake forming a new plan.

But no matter what plan Blake came up with, she couldn't find out more about Weiss other than her age, school life and music capability. It was almost as if Weiss had gone through this thing before, her answers were too practised, giving just enough information but also not enough at the same time.

So this was the Weiss Schnee that she decided to show to them?

Ruby only hoped that today would be an improvement to the day before.

But every time Weiss glanced at her scroll, probably to check the time or something, Ruby could see Yang get more agitated and Blake would have to distract her again and again. With Weiss looking at the time so often, Ruby guessed that she had to be somewhere else later on. Maybe that is why she wanted us to go shopping this early?

Blake seemed to pull Yang a few paces forward after Weiss' latest glance. The two were walking in front of Ruby now, leaving Weiss way at the back.

Taking a deep breath in order to calm her heart rate down, Ruby stopped walking and allowed Weiss to catch up.

As soon as she fell into step with Weiss, her nerves started to act up again. What do I say? 'Hey, you having a nice time… walking… way behind us?' No. 'It's a nice morning, isn't it?' Can you be even more obvious how awkward you are, Ruby? I have to say something or else we will be in this uncomfortable silence all the time. Think, Ruby, think!

Ruby looked over to Weiss, opened her mouth to say the next stupid thing that came to mind but she closed it the moment she saw Weiss' face. She was biting her lip and her eyebrows were furrowed in - what Ruby could only seem to point to - concern. Or was it fear, maybe? But for what? Ruby looked ahead and saw Yang declaring something while Blake listened. Maybe she was concerned that she made a bad impression with the other two? She kinda did make a bad impression on Yang… but there has to be a reason why, right? Everyone does things for a reason. And she seemed pretty desperate the previous night…

Right now, Weiss is the odd one out and Ruby knows that feeling all too well. She was always on the outside of groups, picked last due to her inability to form words that string together properly.

Yang 'helped' a bit when she included Ruby in her conversations with her friends but it always used to overwhelm Ruby. All those eyes focused on her as if her words would mean life or death. Yang had good intentions but they were too much for Ruby, often feeling the need to pull away from any and all human contact. When they were a bit younger, Ruby didn't really like Yang's friends...

Blake was different. She understood that Ruby needed space in order to process the conversations and so she refrained from engaging with Ruby too much, allowing Ruby to get used to Blake on her own time. What drew Ruby in quickly were the novels that Blake read. It started off with a simple one hundred page novel that had a picture of a silhouette of a man with a bright circle in the middle of his chest and the title 'A Man With Two Souls' rubbing across the bottom of the cover. Ruby started to drop grades in her English class and Yang encouraged her to ask Blake for tutoring lessons. Honesty, Ruby liked Blake, she just scared Ruby a bit.

Blake has been there for Yang and Ruby from when they met. She is way better than Yang's other friends that she had. So far, Blake has kept Yang out of trouble and Yang has been able to focus on work- Anyway, Ruby knew what it felt like to be the odd one out and she didn't really want Weiss to feel like that, even if Yang wasn't willing to accept Weiss yet.

"Y-you know," Ruby started but her throat started to clog up from the nerves. She cleared her throat to get rid of the panic. Don't say anything stupid, Ruby. "Yang doesn't hate you."

Weiss' head snapped in Ruby's direction so quickly that she actually took a step away from Weiss in fright. "Excuse me?" Weiss asked, accusation clear in her voice.

Geez, is this girl always on edge? And why does it sound like she is about to wring my neck? I didn't do or say anything to offend her! I have to clear this up before it gets worse.

"I said," Ruby cleared her throat again. Stop being so nervous, Ruby. She can't do anything to you. And if she does decide to, you can just run. She won't be able to catch up with those heels. Ruby gave a small giggle at the image of Weiss chasing after her in - what are those? - three-inch heels. She gave Weiss a small smile before continuing. "Yang doesn't hate you. She just.." Ruby trailed off, wondering how she has to phrase this without giving too much information away. It was Yang's story to tell, not Ruby's. "She just met unfortunate people in her life so that made her wary of new people. Especially when they are around me as well."

Ruby watched as Weiss' eyebrows slowly drew in and her gaze slowly shifted to the blonde. She stopped biting her lip and now was almost glaring at Yang. "Is she always that controlling over you?"

Ruby blinked, perplexed. Where did this come from? Yang wasn't controlling at all. Ruby didn't know where Weiss got this idea from. She didn't even know Yang. Yang went through a lot and she is in the best shape she has ever been in. Weiss has no idea what she is talking about.

Before Ruby could defend Yang, Weiss took a quick look at her scroll before announcing, "This is it." The two in front stopped by a music store as Weiss and Ruby caught up to them. Weiss slipped her scroll into her back pocket.

Ruby looked up and saw that the name was barely visible through the rust, "Tuckson's Music Trade." Ruby looked around. The street was vaguely familiar. An intersection with middle-class buildings all around, mostly stores, as few people walked the streets this early in the morning. Ruby was actually surprised that the store was open at this time. The sunrise barely reached the top of the store windows. She looked up at the flickering street lamp and noticed the street name. She knew this place but only because she saw the pictures in the newspapers.

Ruby swivelled on her heel and her head snapped in Yang's direction in panic. Ruby's breathing stopped as she stared at her sister, waiting for any expression to come over the blonde's face. The panic started to build again as Yang looked directly into the store, almost as if she was really contemplating on going in. Ruby and Blake shared a worried look.

Did Weiss really know? I thought that the cases were closed to the public. Yang's slate was clean. That was the one condition that-

Yang sighed and turned a bit away from the store and gave Ruby a tired look. Ruby chanced a glance behind her and saw that Weiss was inside, looking at the guitar strings on the shelf. Her back was towards them. Weiss couldn't have known, right?

Ruby looked back at Yang and put her hand on Yang's shoulder to at least calm her a bit. "Yang," she said softly. "I am sure that Weiss didn't do this intentionally. If you want, you can stay out here and I go in. I'm sure that Weiss came here for a reason other than that." Yang didn't look like she believed Ruby. "She did offer to buy us things last night, remember?"

Yang's eyebrows furrowed again, seeming to think back to the previous night. Her eyes were a bit hazy so Ruby could only guess that Yang still had a bit of alcohol in her system. Yang was a very emotional person as it was but when alcohol was in the picture, Yang didn't hold back and really couldn't hide anything from anyone.

Ruby gave her sister a small smile before making her way into the store. Yang would be fine as long as Blake was there and Ruby didn't want to make Yang feel even more uncomfortable than she already is.

She looked back at the newest member of the group and seen Weiss looking at the back of the guitar string packages, trying to choose between a blue pack and pink pack. It couldn't be that hard to pick out strings, right? Ruby wondered. Just take the pink one, it's closer to red.

Weiss put the pink pack back on the shelf.

Ruby slumped her shoulders as she drew her eyes away from Weiss and looked around the store. It was a second-hand store as most of the instruments and equipment had chips and dents here and there and some were covered in a layer of dust. Of course there were a few objects that looked brand new as if they were just brought into the store, but not too many to outshine the others. Slowly, her eyes drew to a guitar in the corner.

The first thing that caught her attention was a red rose that was etched into the body. The body itself was black and the rose that was etched is close to the bottom and it almost shone like rubies. A red rose. A ruby rose. Ruby chuckled at that. The guitar had red trimmings around the pickups and red accents here and there. The fretboard and head were black and the fret dividers were red.

It might've been the rose, it might've been the colour scheme or it might have been neither. All that Ruby knew was that she just had to get that guitar. She checked the price tag and almost choked. She had never expected it to be that expensive. Ruby deflated a bit and continued to move on, glancing every now and then back to the guitar in the corner.

Ruby debated if she should ask Weiss to buy it but decided against it since that is way too much and then she thought of going half way with Weiss. Ruby realised that she couldn't even do that because she doesn't have enough to go half way. She settled on just leaving the guitar and completely forgetting about it. It was an unrealistic, five second dream of playing onstage with it, battling all the stage fright away and gaining powerful applause from her adoring fans and-

Ruby shook her head and looked away from the guitar. A stupid dream. It is more Yang's dream than mine, actually. Not like I can just get rid of my nervousness with the snap of a finger.

Weiss was already paying for the equipment and giving orders to the guy behind the counter. "Okay, now don't forget, I'll call you; You do not call me. Got it?" Weiss snapped. The guy just nodded, eyes wide.

That is some weird way to make an order. She makes it sound like she is doing business with those super secret agent places, where they fight bad guys and all that. "You don't contact me; I'll contact you" kinda things, Ruby grinned. Maybe Weiss is a spy… Do we have a spy as a teammate? That would be totally awesome. Maybe her spy name could be the 'White Ninja' since she wears so much white. But then she wouldn't be a ninja because ninjas need to blend in-

Weiss turned suddenly and left the room, leaving Ruby to awkwardly stand there, facing the guy. She scratched the back of her neck and gave a small chuckle to ease the tension. What do I do? Do I even have to do anything? Is there something to do? Ruby looked at the cashier and he just turned his back to her to ready whatever orders Weiss gave him, ignoring her presence completely. Huh, guess that answers that. Thank goodness, if I stayed any longer it would have been awkward.

Without another word, Ruby twisted on her heel and headed out after Weiss.

"Yes, I have taken care of everything equipment-wise," Ruby heard Weiss say as she opened the store door and walked out into the fresh morning air. The sun had risen a bit since they had first entered the shop. She stifled a yawn and shielded her eyes from the sun before focusing on the conversation again. "However, I do need to hire people that will help choreograph and producers and just some added protection, just in case-"

"Woah woah woah," Yang interrupted Weiss, any signs of Yang's previous mood was replaced with one of confusion. "Why are you jumping the gun already? We have to wait for the judges of the competition to let us know when we have made it to the next round or not."

"If we have even made it," Blake pointed out. "But even so, you cannot be sure that you will need all those people and things. After all, we only just started. None of us are professionals."

Weiss gave the two a scrutinizing gaze as she seemed to consider her next words. "If you guys are so against me doing all this, why did you accept my offer last night?"

Yang and Blake exchanged looks and Ruby lowered her head. Why did we?

A few moments pass before Yang hmphs, crossed her arms and glared at Weiss.

Ruby's eyes shifted from Weiss to Blake. Blake only frowning and giving a one shoulder shrug. "You're unbelievable." Weiss commented, clicking her tongue and resting her hand on her hip.

Ruby looked down with a frown, "To be honest," Ruby let the words flood from her lips. "We only had a plan to win the first round, then you came around and showed how amazing you could play and sing. That along with your offer," Ruby's eyes had drifted to the floor, "We just got excited, maybe overly so since we kinda took advantage of it. The thrill of having these opportunities clouded our judgement, we all went along with it." By the end of this Ruby's eyes had landed on Weiss, holding her guilt.

"If that's an apology," Weiss started, sighing lightly.

"Weiss," Ruby gave her a small smile as Weiss' expression went from upset to blank, "You're right, we should be more open to being professional."

Weiss looked Ruby over again, trying to identify anything that told Weiss otherwise. After a few moments, ice blue met silver as Weiss returned the smile. When Yang scoffed in disbelief, the heiress threw her a disapproving side glance which caused Ruby to give a soft giggle. Another breeze swept past them and Ruby shivered and pulled her jacket tighter to her.

"What's up with you always looking at your scroll?" Yang accused. Ruby turned her head towards her sister and Weiss, spotting the latter clutching her scroll. So she has seen it too… "It's like you are waiting for someone or something to happen."

"What?" Weiss' face scrunched up in confusion. "Am I not allowed to check my phone now that I am in the group? Are there any other 'rules' that I need to follow so that you can stop whining?"

Ruby saw Yang breathe a hot breath out of her nose, seeming to try and calm down. Ruby wondered if Weiss and Yang would always clash like this. Wasn't this how any group broke up? They hadn't even been a group for a full day and they were already in the danger zone. Ruby's breath started to quicken without her realising.

Blake tugged at the blonde's wrist, pulling her away from Weiss a bit, before she spoke, "It's just that… Continuing to look at your scroll makes you very suspicious."

"But I'm a-"

"A Schnee, we know," Blake interrupted, sighing as she closed her eyes. "Although you aren't your father, Schnees still aren't that trustworthy and you cannot blame us for being precautious." Blake opened her eyes and said in a gentle voice, almost gentle enough for the breeze to carry it away, "We still don't know you and it will take time for trust to be established between us."

Blake meant no offence and Ruby saw understanding flash through Weiss' eyes. Ruby's breathing started to calm down as she saw the heiress' shoulders relax and her jaw unclench. "Fine," Weiss announced. She walked right up to Yang and narrowed her eyes a bit, analysing the blonde as if she were trying to decide if it is, in fact, 'fine'. "I am willing to be a bit more patient and earn your trust if only you are willing to believe me that I shall cause no harm to this group, whatsoever. I want to be here just as much as you."

When Yang made no move to accept nor decline Weiss' declaration, Weiss' shoulders slumped as she looked disbelievingly at Yang. Ruby watched as the muscles in Weiss' jaw worked under her skin before the heiress clenched it, and wondered what was going through her mind. She has probably never had anyone distrust her so much. Weiss looked off to the side submissively, muttering something that Ruby could not hear but Yang's eyes widened a fraction while Blake's eyebrows hid behind her fringe.

Ruby focused on Weiss again, trying to catch a trace of what she had said to earn those reactions. Yang was so dead-set on not trusting Weiss that Ruby never thought that the blonde would cave so soon.

But just as quick as those expressions appeared, they were wiped off their faces before Weiss looked back up. "Fine," Yang said, monotonous. "Don't make me regret it."

* * *

 **Hey, Dai here. I do apologise that this chapter took so long. Just... a lot of things happened and I wasn't able to keep up with it. I wrote every now and then to try and finish this chapter. Please let us know of your thoughts on this chapter. Cam helped me majorly with this chapter, as he always does so... Enjoy :P**


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